The present invention relates generally to control systems and more particularly to a control lever for simultaneously controlling the movement of at least a pair of control devices.
Most present day commercial industrial vehicles require controlling a number of control elements to perform various functions during normal use of the vehicle. For example, agricultural equipment such as large heavy duty tractors normally incorporate multi-speed transmissions so that the vehicle can be operated throughout a wide range of speed for different functions. One example of such a transmission is disclosed in Bislew U.S. Pat. No. 3,469,472. The transmission disclosed therein consists of two different units that are operatively interconnected so that the vehicle can be operated in as many as twelve different speeds in the forward direction and four speeds in the reverse direction.
To further increase the versatility of such a suit, the transmission also has a range control so that the transmission can be operated at two different ranges, such as direct drive and under drive, for each given speed of the transmission.
Such a combination of control elements require the numerous control levers for controlling the respective elements at selected times. Of course, numerous control systems have been proposed which are capable of operating more than one control element. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,541,876 and 2,691,080 disclose single control levers for simultaneously controlling at least two different control elements.
Another example of a single control lever is U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,869 which discloses a single control lever for simultaneously controlling two elements and the subject patent is assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
While there are numerous existing control systems wherein a single control lever simultaneously controls a plurality of movable elements, manufacturers of agricultural and industrial equipment are constantly striving for producing a more competitive unit from a cost standpoint without sacrificing operating performance.